Relying on a harassing defense, the Golden Eagles overcame some shooting woes and beat Maryland-Baltimore County, 67-42, in MU's first game at Fiserv Forum.

MU overwhelmed the Retrievers with length and a nine-man rotation. UMBC shot just 14 of 62 (22.6 percent).

"The story of the game was our defense," MU head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "We haven't won a ton of games in the past on the defensive end.

"And on a night when our offense wasn't as good as it is going to be, our defense was very sound throughout 40 minutes of basketball."

One player who stood out on the defensive end was sophomore big man Theo John, who had three blocks. John also contributed 11 points and 10 rebounds in just under 24 minutes for his first collegiate double-double.

John sat out the closed-door scrimmage with Northwestern and last week's exhibition against Carroll with a thumb injury he suffered in practice. He wore a small cast on his right thumb.

John's mobility helped the Golden Eagles defend a UMBC team that likes to spread the court with shooters at all five positions.

MU's defense has been maligned in recent seasons. But the Golden Eagles appear to have been given a boost with the additions of lengthy newcomers like grad transfer Joseph Chartouny and freshmen Brendan Bailey and Joey Hauser

"We've got to take pride in it this year," John said. "The depth we have we can do that - give 110 percent and then send a new guy in to do the same."

The versatile defense certainly impressed UMBC coach Ryan Odom.

The Retrievers were playing in their first game since the second round of last season's NCAA Tournament. They defeated Virginia to become the first 16th-seeded team to win in the opening round.

UMBC only had 18 points in the second half against MU.

"I thought they did a really good job of switching," Odom said. "It slowed us down, so we paused a lot. You saw very few plays where our ball was moving."

The defense carried MU in a game in which the Golden Eagles shot only 8 of 32 on three-pointers.

Junior guard Markus Howard had 15 points but was 2 of 12 from beyond the arc. He added seven assists and eight rebounds with two turnovers in just over 32 minutes.

"I thought he played a really good floor game," Wojciechowski said. "I'm not concerned about Markus' shooting.

"Look, for our team, we have two guys who have done it at a really high level in college basketball. And that's Markus and Sam (Hauser). And those guys need to be aggressive. They are going to make shots."

Sam Hauser added 15 points and eight rebounds, shaking off an ankle injury in the second half.

The Golden Eagles are also getting used to their new digs at Fiserv Forum.

"We haven't played a lot in this arena," Wojciechowski said. "And so there is a comfort level that we will get to."

MU plays Bethune-Cookman in the building on Saturday.

Eke out indefinitely: Redshirt freshman center Ike Eke is out indefinitely with a back injury.

Eke redshirted last season after having back surgery.

"My heart aches for him," Wojciechowski said. "Because he's struggled with some back problems for two straight years.

"He's a wonderful young man who would do anything to be out there with his team. His body is just not allowing him to do that at this point."